CLAHRC East Midlands awarded funding

We are delighted to announce that NIHR Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care East Midlands (CLAHRC EM) will be awarded £10 million of funding from the Department of Health over five years. CLAHRC EM has attracted a further £18 million of matched funding from local NHS, academic and commercial partners to translate research findings into improved outcomes for patients.

CLAHRC EM will be led by Professor Kamlesh Khunti, and will build on the work of the two previous CLAHRCs for Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire (NDL) and Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland (LNR). Projects will focus on health conditions which many people are likely to experience such as; diabetes, asthma and mental health issues.

Hosted by Nottinghamshire Healthcare, CLAHRC East Midlands team will work closely with the region’s NHS organisations, universities and other partners, making this one of the biggest research collaboratives in the country. This will also ensure that not only is world class research into life threatening conditions carried out, but that the results are put into practice as quickly as possible.

First class research

Professor Mike Cooke CBE, Chief Executive of Nottinghamshire Healthcare and CLAHRC EM Executive Board Chair said: “I am delighted that we are to receive this funding to enable first class research to continue in the region that will help to improve the health and wellbeing of many people across the East Midlands.

“It is absolutely fantastic that by working together with our partners to deliver these projects we can make a real difference for patients. As Chair, I will ensure that the funding we receive is invested in projects that will have maximum benefit for the public.

‘This success is also testament to the hard work of the people involved in the bid process and it recognises that the East Midlands contains some of the leading health research bodies in England, carrying out world class, innovative and potentially life saving research. It’s great news.”

Bright future

Professor Khunti said: “I am delighted to be given this opportunity to lead a team of such skilled and dedicated researchers; many with world class reputations. Our success is also a recognition of the productivity of the two current CLAHRCs that allowed us to demonstrate a track record of excellence in research, capacity building and service improvement. This announcement means we have a bright future but also provides a challenge to prepare for a January launch.

'By working with all our partners, including the public and industry, I am determined to ensure that CLAHRC EM has a positive impact on health care across the region. We will focus on the health needs of the people of the East Midlands to develop and deliver projects that can be both rapidly implemented and lead to real improvements in health and wellbeing".

The Department of Health announced CLAHRC EM will be one of 13 CLAHRC programmes in England, with £120 million invested in them.

To find out more, see our Introduction to CLAHRC East Midands brochure, which sets out our ambitions for the future and how we will work with all our partners to deliver them.